Aftermath
by Seth'sInsatiableFaggot
Summary: Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, this story is pretty good, but I'm splitting it into two parts. I'm working on Question at the moment, so stay on your toes. This is part 1. Oh, it does a bit of POV shifts. - KingofthePocky**

* * *

"Shit shit shit shit shit shit." he cursed into the battered cell phone as he ran from the ruins of the burning church, his free hand clutching the rosary around his neck. "Fucking answer your fucking cell, you fucking fucker."

_Crash._

One of the walls of the church had fallen onto the truck parked inside, instantly crushing the vehicle beneath the flaming mass of bricks. Mello let out a cough and kept running, heading towards the nearby house as he held the cell to his ear.

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Click._

Matt had finally picked up his cell phone. The blonde would have cheered if he had any breath left in his smoke-filled lungs.

"Hey." muttered a quiet voice on the other end of the line, causing the leather-clad man to stumble once he leapt over the short wire fence. "Long time no hear from."

"Matt... What hap- No. Where are you?" he heard Mello tried to calm his breath so as not to freak out his partner in crime. The redhead let out a weak chuckle and hissed in pain as his fingers dug out one of the bullets lodged in his arm.

"Ya know that intersection we had planned out? About eleventy blocks north from there. In an alleyway." he flicked the bullet onto the ground beneath him and let his head fall back against the wall as his vision wavered.

The blonde breathed in sharply and flung himself into the backup car he had stashed in the garage of an abandoned house the week before. "Matt, eleventy isn't a number." he slammed his foot down and cursed under his breath as the car fishtailed out onto the road.

"It can be a number if I say it is, and I say it is." Matt lifted a hand to pull his goggles off his head, flinging them out blindly in front of him. "Mells, do me a favor and be quick. I... kinda got into a bit of shit."

Matt asked him for a favor? Mello couldn't remember the last time Matt had asked him for a serious favor. His foot pressed down harder on the pedal and he felt the crimson-painted car leap forward, the engine growling louder.

"Stay on the line. If you hang up on me, I swear to god, Matt, I will kill you in hundreds of different ways, and resurrect you each time." he threatened, stomping on the brakes once he pulled into the alleyway.

"You fucker. I ain't gonna hang up on ya, blondie." he heard the redhead laugh softly on the other end of the line before going silent.

_Thud._

Mello's eyes widened at the noise, one he knew to be the sound of Matt's cell phone dropping to the ground.

_Thud._

This time it wasn't the phone. It was his own heart, one that had been so close to death just an hour ago. His heart was beating so loud, the noise was thundering in his ears.

_Thud._

_Slam._

He flung the car door open and leapt out, throwing his cell phone behind him into the car before he ran to the redhead. The red hair that was always a vibrant crimson hung down over the man's face, the dim light of the alleyway making it seem a dull brown.

_Thud._

A pair of silver goggles with orange lenses rested in his hand, the strap tangled around his fingers. The silver frame contrasted with the smears of red, the two colors mixing and blurring. He wouldn't let go of his most prized possession, right up until the last minute.

_Thud._

The battered lambswool vest that he wore, now riddled with holes, the white lining soaked with more of the crimson liquid. Blood was dripping down off the man's chin, slowly absorbing into his shirt as it fell.

_Thud._

The sound of his heart pounding faded as he fell to his knees next to the man, his hand immediately moving over to hold his fingers on the redhead's pulse point on his neck.

_Thud._

His eyes widened at the feel of a faint pulse and he leapt to his feet, wrapping his arms around Matt and lifted him up. "Fuck, exercise more, you fucker." he panted, half carrying him, half dragging him to the backseat of the car.

_Slam._

The blonde laid him gently on the seat and shut the door once he was done, grabbing his cell phone as he slipped in behind the wheel. "You owe me for this." he muttered, dialling the only number he had stored in his phone a week ago.

"This is Near."

* * *

**Oooh, what a cliffhanger. Now go read chapter 2. And review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Here ya go, chapter 2._****I'm not too comfortable with writing pointless kink and smuttery, so it ends kinda weird.**

* * *

_A few dozen cars parked hastily in the intersection, the Kira supporters standing around with their guns aimed at the red car. "How many bodyguards does one woman need anyway?" he mumbled under his breath, taking a long drag of the cigarette between his lips. "Wait a minute, wait a minute. Since when were the Japanese allowed to carry such big guns?" he fixed a grin on his face as he stepped out of the car, raising his hands up in surrender._

_"__You got me. I'm an accomplice in the kidnapping of Takada. I'm sure you've got a lot of questions to ask me. You won't shoot."_

_Wrong. He was wrong. Well, he knew deep down that they'd shoot, but he didn't really mind. This plan was suicide right from the very start. He'd done his part, and Mello would do his. They couldn't take down Kira by themselves, so they'd sacrifice themselves to give Near the last important puzzle piece._

_Bang. The bullets slammed into his body, causing him to stagger back with the amount of force propelling them. How silly. He'd told Mello that one day he'd shoot Kira two dozen times, and now here he was, falling backwards against his car, riddled with bulletholes. Ah, shit. Looks like this was it then._

_No. He wouldn't die now. He had to get away. Play dead and then get away the moment they turn their backs. Get as far away as possible and call Mello. The Kira supporters were making their way over to him. Arms wrapped around him and lifted him up. They carried his body away from the car and laid him on the sidewalk._

_Now! Go go go go! He waited until they moved away to inspect his car and leapt up, stumbling a bit until he managed to regain his balance. The Kira supporters were busy pulling his car apart, slicing open the seats and ripping away the leather, no one saw him run off, his cigarette discarded and smouldering on the ground._

_An alley. He darted in and collapsed against the wall, blood already soaking his vest and shirt. Mello will call soon. He will. He has to._

* * *

His eyes opened to a blinding white glare. Wait, wasn't he supposed to be dead? A flash of movement to the side caught his eye and he lifted his head up to look at it. Mello was resting his head on the side of the bed, snoring softly.

"I see you're awake now, Matt." murmured a small feminine voice. Ah. Well, that explains how he's still alive. His eyes shifted to look at the small, white haired boy standing in the doorway. "Mello hasn't left your side since he brought you here."

Matt rose an eyebrow and glanced down at the sleeping blonde. "Mells... What happened? I remember getting shot and getting to the alley, but after then it's kinda gone blank." he sighed and looked back at the boy. "So, Mello finally put his grudge against you on hold and asked for your help, huh?"

"No, he ordered me to help you. I chose to help. You were shot 24 times in the torso and shoulders, a few bullets narrowly missing your head and neck." he said emotionlessly, his blank gaze turning to look at Mello. "Mello found you in the alleyway and brought you here. All charges against you were dropped, so you will not be taken to prison or put to death. Kira was defeated."

Matt sat up suddenly and cried out from the pain that ricocheted throughout his chest. "Fuck..." he groaned, slowly easing himself up into a sitting position. "What the fuck... You managed to take Kira down?"

The boy nodded and shifted his grip on the toy robot he held pressed to his chest. "The Yellow Box warehouse, two days ago. Light Yagami was proved to be Kira and he was then shot. Mikami Teru was arrested and taken into custody, while Yagami died of a sudden heart attack."

A small grumble sounded from the blonde, who then lifted his head up and yawned. "Matty?" he mumbled, blinking sleepily. "Damn it, how long was I asleep?"

Matt smiled slightly and placed his hand on Mello's burnt shoulder, looking down at him lovingly. "You were only asleep for a few hours. I had Gevanni slip something into your hot chocolate to make you sleep, but it seems that either your system is very strong, or that the dosage was not enough." the albino murmured, turning to walk out the door.

"Near." Matt called, squeezing Mello's shoulder gently as the boy paused in the doorway. "Thank you. For clearing our names, for everything." Near nodded and smiled at him before shutting the door behind him. The redhead turned his gaze back to the scarred blonde and winced as the pain grew in his chest.

"Matt... God, I thought you'd die. Have you any idea how hard it would be for me to find another hacker as good as you?" Mello teased, grinning up at him happily. "I should hug you, cause you a little more pain for being that close to death without me."

He smirked and leaned forward, hissing as his chest was wracked with agonizing pain. The blonde's eyes widened as his partner wrapped his arms around him and pulled him up onto the bed. "Fine then. I didn't want to hurt you, but you brought this on yourself." he chuckled.

Matt lay back, holding the blonde close. "We're leaving Japan. We're gonna move to some beautiful house somewhere in California and we'll live off my hackings." he murmured, trying to keep the pain out of his voice as he spoke. "Kira is dead and his followers will die off eventually. Our names have been cleared, we can have a life now."

* * *

"We're leaving Japan?" he lifted his head up to look at him, frowning once he saw the look of discomfort. "Anyway, we can talk about this once you're a bit better. You nearly died, Matt." he sighed, pulling himself out of the redhead's tight embrace.

"I am better. The bullets were removed and are all stitched up. I'm as good as I can get, just lying here." Matt looked away suddenly, his fingers going up to touch his head lightly. "My goggles..."

The scarred blonde chuckled and held out the silver goggles, the same pair of goggles that had been smeared with blood not that long ago. "Here. You had them in your hand when I found you." A small cry erupted from the man's mouth as he reached for them, one of the bandaged bulletholes on his chest beginning to bleed again.

Mello cursed and quickly slipped the goggles over the mess of red hair, untucking the few strands of hair that got caught in the strap. "We're leaving this Monday. It's about ten o'clock, Tuesday night now." he murmured, briefly pressing his lips to Matt's own. "Get some rest. I'll be back soon."

The redhead nodded slightly and relaxed, slowly closing his eyes as the blonde walked out of the room.

* * *

Mello gave a small sigh of frustration as he brushed his wet hair out of his eyes. Damn, he'd have to get his hair cut soon. It was almost touching his chin, and still quite ragged from where the explosion had burnt his hair. Oh well. He could ask Matt to do it now that he was a lot better.

He closed his eyes and tilted his face up into the steady stream of water gushing from the shower-head. It was a little too hot for comfort but he didn't mind it. After all, his best friend, his lover, his partner in crime was only a few doors away, riddled with healing bulletholes. He could stand a little bit of hot water.

The water ran down his chin, over his bare chest and down his legs, steam rising up when it touched the cool tiled floor of the shower. Everything at their new apartment was white, grey or black. At least the base he'd stayed in with Matt had some color in it.

How he missed the battered leather couches, the scratched wooden table that housed the majority of Matt's electronic goodies; his laptops always open, illegally downloading music and movies on one, encrypting files on another, using one of the home-built programs to hack into some rich man's bank account, the laptops were always running, even when their owner had passed out from exhaustion.

What he would give to be back there with Matt.

With another soft sigh, he opened his eyes and turned of the rush of water, the last few drops falling onto his shoulders. He pulled back the glass door and grabbed his towel, wrapping it around his body in one easy manoeuvre.

The blonde rose a hand and wiped it across the steam-covered mirror, his eyes narrowing at the hazy sight of his burn. "It's never gonna be normal again." he whispered, slowly running his fingers over the burnt skin. "It's too late. Abominable."

_Thud._

He lifted his head up in surprise as the bathroom door opened. What? Didn't he lock that door? A familiar mess of crimson hair peeked through the gap, followed by the pained face of his partner. "You could've let me know you were taking a shower." he teased, obviously trying to hide his pain.

"Matty... You're supposed to be resting." he growled, turning away from the mirror and lowering his hand. "This isn't the place to be when you're trying to avoid... overexerting yourself." he closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall.

"I'm not trying to avoid that. I'm trying to get my lover to stop worrying about me." he murmured, stepping into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him. "I couldn't think of anything else to do, so I was stuck with this."

Mello stiffened at the hand that came to rest on his scarred shoulder. "Matt. Listen to me. I don't want to hurt you-" his words were cut off by the pair of warm lips that instantly pressed to his own. He immediately relaxed at the touch and eventually parted his lips for him. The redhead slowly pushed his tongue into the other's mouth, as if he was careful not to harm him. Silly, Mello thought, I'm not the one who looks like Swiss cheese.

Matt pulled back after a moment and glanced at the shower. "Think you'd mind having another shower?" he murmured, grinning at him slyly.

"I'll gladly have a second shower, provided you're going to be joining me." he purred as he let his towel fall to the bathroom floor.


End file.
